opuntia

British  

/ ɒˈpʌnʃɪə /

noun

1. any cactus of the genus Opuntia, esp prickly pear, having fleshy branched stems and green, red, or yellow flowers

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Etymology

Origin of opuntia

C17: New Latin, from Latin Opuntia ( herba ) the Opuntian (plant), from Opus, ancient town of Locris, Greece

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

opuntia

The event will include displays of many rare and unusual succulents, including aloe, echeveria, euphorbia, agave, opuntia, pachypodium and ferocactus.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2023

The groups of columnar cactus and opuntia produce the same effect in the arid lands of equinoctial America as the junceae and the hydrocharides in the marshes of our northern climes.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Thomasina Ross

The cochineal is imported from Spain, although the opuntia, or the tree that nourishes the cochineal-fly, abounds in many of the provinces of West Barbary, particularly in the province of Suse.

From An Account of Timbuctoo and Housa Territories in the Interior of Africa by James Grey Jackson

When this process is duly effected, the cactus opuntia, or prickly pear, is planted, which hastens the desired event, and has the power to break up the lava, and render it fit for productive purposes.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 20, No. 568, September 29, 1832 by Various

From time to time he stopped to throw a stone at a bird or at a puffed-up black lizard darting among the opuntia cactus.

From The Dead Command From the Spanish Los Muertos Mandan by Frances Douglas

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